a day ago
Woman, 21, killed in 90mph horror crash on way back from Winter Wonderland as her boyfriend begged drink-driver to stop
A WOMAN was killed in a 90mph crash on her way back from Winter Wonderland by her drink-driving pal, an inquest heard.
Lillie Clack, 21, was squeezed into Charlie Hilton's Mercedes with four other passengers as they drove home on Christmas Day 2021.
4
The friends had been at Winter Wonderland and visited a pub in Morden before accepting a lift home from Hilton.
Hilton, 25, was chased by police before he smashed into a tree and flipped the car in Carshalton, South London.
The Mercedes erupted into flames as horrified locals rushed out their homes in the early hours with fire extinguishers.
South London Coroner's Court heard Lillie suffered catastrophic injuries in the horror and was declared dead three days later.
Her boyfriend Jack Watson was among those who were badly hurt.
He told the inquest how he had begged Hilton to slow down and let him and Lillie out of the car but was just told the shut up.
Jack said: "I think I might have said 'Charlie what are you doing, why are you going so fast'.
"I think the girls were in shock."
Jack said he could not recall the details of the chase but remembered Hilton running a red light before the crash.
He said he remembered then being pulled from the car on a stretcher and bleeding from his lip.
Jack added: "I remember asking 'where's Lillie?'. I remember being in an ambulance and blood on my jacket but I do not know where the blood came from.
"My clothing was cut off from me - and I knew then that it was bad."
Lillie's best friend Delia Casey, who was also injured in the crash, said "at no point did Charlie appear drunk to me".
She continued: "Everyone was shouting inside the car. There was a lot going on and I was just feeling very fearful for everyone in the car. The speed we were going at made me feel terrified.
"It feels like I was only in there for a few seconds. It feels like a blur.
"Even after I visited Lillie's tree I still have no memory of the accident."
Hilton was jailed for ten years and six months in February 2023 after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
He also admitted three counts of causing serious injury, failing to stop when directed and driving above the alcohol limit.
Hilton had 11 previous convictions, including for motoring offences, and had previously been jailed for 10 months for possession with intent to supply a psychoactive substance.
Lillie's family are now campaigning for 'Lillie's Law' that will ban killer drivers from getting behind the wheel again.
It comes after Hilton kept his driving licence before he was eventually charged with causing Lillie's death a year after the crash.
Her mum Debbie previously told The Sun Online: "I spent the first year wondering why. My thoughts were everywhere.
"I have now spent the second year in total disbelief of the justice system.
"I am angry now. I am very angry at Lillie's killer. Lillie didn't have to die. All he had to do was stop that car."
The inquest into Lillie's death continues.
4
4
